


Stars to Your Flames

by alexeiswords



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Multi, i mean theres nothing too special about it, im switching from ff to ao3 so you might have seen this work around before, some sad stuff sometimes but i prefer fluffy lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:40:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29851323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexeiswords/pseuds/alexeiswords
Summary: A collection of one shots based on writing prompts centered around NaLu. Thank you for taking a gander. Rated M for possible mature themes.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Kudos: 21





	1. Searing

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: NaLu  
> Rating: M – probably  
> None of these characters are owned by me. They are all owned by the beautiful Hiro Mashima!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Searing  
> Pairing: NaLu  
> Request: Lucy listening to her own heart beating faster and faster as she rewrites the book of E.N.D (inspired by chapters 535 and 538)  
> Rating: M – probably  
> None of these characters are owned by me. They are all owned by the beautiful Hiro Mashima!
> 
> A/N:  
> Hey all! I know it’s been forever (2 years probably more) since I’ve posted, but that’s about to change. I’m working on several NaLu WIPs right now. Two big announcements: I stream writing and gaming on Twitch now, and I’m in the process of setting up to sell shipping related candles. You can get updates on everything on my tumblr: alexeiswords (also I changed my username). This prompt is from a solid 3 years ago sorry it took so long to write it.

Her right arm felt like it was on fire, and perhaps it was. Lucy’s focus was on this damn book; she didn’t have time to check for a missing limb. To be fair, this was the arm that was re-writing her best friend’s life, so maybe she should make sure.   
_  
No, focus,   
_  
she thought.  
_  
If you’re writing, it’s obviously there,   
_  
her mind screamed at her.

It was challenging, to say the least. Her heart was racing from the adrenaline, and perhaps the fear, that came with trying to save a life. This wasn’t just any life, she reminded herself. This book is Natsu’s life. Her breathing grew heavy as her heart pulsed even harder. It was hard to breathe with her chest throbbing. She could even hear it as it wracked her skull.

_ Fear.  _ That’s what she began to feel as her arm slowly, but steadily, became overwhelmed by the strength of what she assumed to be Natsu’s magic. Lucy began to tremble; her hand stopped moving. Once again, the nuisance in her chest beats harder. It was demanding that she end the pain searing through her body.

_ Scared.  _ Lucy couldn’t go down here. Natsu would die. She couldn’t let him die. Not like this. They were supposed to be together until the very end.

At the very least, she needed to be at his side. However, the Lucy right now wasn’t strong enough, so this would have to do. She forced her fingers to do her bidding, barely managing to grip the pen tighter. Her chest grew heavy as the pulsing grew louder in her ears. She begged, pleaded, for her body to work with her.

If this was the last thing she did, then she had to do it right. Natsu’s life was on the line. She took a deep breath, wishing she could calm this harsh beating screaming in her ears. It was then that she felt a calming presence, and a sharp chill broke through the severe heat in her arm. Relief flooded through her. Her heart began to slow again. She knew, with the support of her friends, she’d save the man most precious to her.

She approached the final word, and a smile lit up her face as the text returned to its rightful place. Had she done it? She prayed she had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is super short, but I was only doing short request prompts. The BNHA one will be MUCH longer. That one is already at 7 pages and it's barely started. ANYWAY, I'll see you then.
> 
> \- alexeiswords


	2. Puppeteer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title: Puppeteer  
> Pairing: NaLu  
> Prompt: Villain Lucy BNHA AU  
> Rating: T – probably  
> None of these characters are owned by me. They are all owned by the beautiful Hiro Mashima!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the BNHA AU (finally). So, because I think it’s going to get a bit… long, I’m splitting it into three parts so I can work on it over time instead of trying to finish all of it in one go. Chalk it up to my ADHD lol Last chapter was broken and I can’t get it to fix. It’s weird cause the live preview shows it looking fine but the actual live website page does not. I’ve opted to ignore it, and I’ll just try and upload it at a later time.  
> LAST THING: I have to take a 4 to 8-week hiatus from writing because ya boi broke her eyes lol Well, not really broke them, but I had a visit with the optometrist today who prescribed some fancy eye drops and told me to stay away from doing anything that will cause “moderate-to-severe” eye strain.   
> Which is, ya know, everything lol I’m supposed to be careful for two months actually, but I don’t really want to go on hiatus for that long. I may have to follow the two months but I’m going to shoot for a month first.  
> Sorry y’all I know I just got back, but I swear I’ll work on content again as soon as I can. It’s actually part of the reason this is going to be a three-parter. This is the farthest I’ve gotten up until that eye appointment and I didn’t want to leave you with a broken, super short chapter.

“Couldn’t you just compel them to tell you?” Gray asked, his foot tapping wildly in frustration.

“I could, but we were told to be discreet,” she hissed, pen moving quickly across the page, eyes glued to the arena. UA was hosting their annual sports festival, and they’d finally gotten to the battle matches. She was grateful, considering her partner was getting antsy.

Lucy was supposed to be focusing on the third-year students since they were set to be Pro-Heroes by the end of the year. It seemed like her boss wanted to know if there were any viable options for hire. ‘Hiring’ was putting it nicely, considering they don’t get paid.

“Just erase their memory,” he made it sound as if that were the easiest thing in the world. That wasn’t even her quirk!

“Gray, I feel like you don’t actually know what my quirk is,”

“That’s because I don’t,” he shrugged as if it didn’t matter. Lucy supposed it didn’t. At least not right now.

“My abilities are physical. Not mental. It’s called Puppeteer,” she decided to keep it vague. The only one who knew the full extent of her abilities was the Master, after all.

Gray was watching her now, deep-blue eyes swimming with curiosity.  _ Nope, don’t like that _ , she thought. Clearly, he wanted to know more. How far could her quirk go? What was the downside? All quirks had a con of some sort. She’s sure that’s what he was thinking about.

“Then, just make them tell you,” he was on the brink of whining now, hopeful that forcing them to talk was part of her quirk.

“Again, discreet,” her eyes narrowed. What was so important he had to rush her?

Gray rolled his eyes. Personally, Lucy Heartfilia had never really struck him as someone who belonged with the villains. She seemed too soft. However, he had never worked a job with her until now, so what would he know? In fact, this might be the first one. They’d have to christen it with a drink later.

“So, why are you even here?” She elbowed him, hard, in the ribs before returning her focus to the festival. She didn’t mean it in a bad way; she just knew he didn’t want to be there.

“I was told to watch you. Apparently, last time you had a mission, you ran into a Pro and got into trouble,”

“Wrong,” she set her pen down on her notebook before crossing her fingers in an ‘ _ x.’  _ He raised an eyebrow before gesturing for her to continue.

“ _ Itwastwo,”  _ He blanched.

“Are you kidding me?” his voice raised for just a moment.

“Oh, how I wish I was,” she sighed in exasperation.

  
  


_ Lucy panicked as she bolted from the alley. She was told to keep a low profile, so she’d left her costume behind, thinking she wouldn’t need it to do simple recon. That decision was currently biting her in the ass. At the very least, she’d worn a face mask. _

_ A general one you’d buy at the store, but it would have to do. The hoodie that had been thrown on before leaving headquarters hid bright blonde hair. That was the main giveaway. Blonde hair wasn’t exactly common in this particular region, given the multitude of hair dye options accessible in the bigger cities. _

_ She’d struggled with the decision to out herself as a villain for a long time before deciding it was better to stay out of the spotlight. They needed people who could blend in, right? What good would it do if all of them couldn’t step foot in public? That was her excuse anyway. _

“ _ They went that way!” she groaned in frustration as the voice of the Pro, who’d discovered her previously, got louder. Lucy had no choice but to accept she was out of shape and needed more cardio. If she managed to get out of this, she swore she’d work on it. _

_ Luckily, She’d finally found the main road.  _ **_Perfect_ ** _ , she thought. Blending into the crowd was her best shot at escape. She slowed to a more casual pace while pulling her jacket off and tying it around her waist, then tossing her mask into a garbage can nearby. They’d be looking for someone in a hoodie and a mask. The less she matched that description, the better. She’d made it roughly a mile before someone called out to her. _

“ _ Hey, girl! Stop,” she flinched but kept going until a figure stepped in front of her. She looked up, coming face to face with Pro-Hero, Steel Gauntlet. She paled, immediately panicking. This particular Hero was known for fighting first, asking questions later. _

“ _ Y-yes?” she stuttered, backing up a couple steps. That was worse. Her back collided with something hard. _

“ _ Woah! Hey, are you okay?” No. Not even a little. She shivered, turning slowly. Behind her was E.N.D.  _ **_Shit,_ ** _ she cursed internally, wanting nothing more than to escape. Lucy was beginning to think her luck had run out. _

“ _ I’m fine,” her voice cracked as she gave a futile attempt to regain her composure. _

“ _ Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?” Steel gauntlet approached her, and due to unfortunate circumstances, she couldn’t put more distance between them. She was blocked in, she realized. Behind her wasn’t the problem. In front of her was an entirely different story. _

“ _ Not particularly,” Her mind screamed. _

“ _ Are you sure you’re alright? You seem scared,” E.N.D seemed to be rather perceptive. That was less than stellar. _

“ _ Sorry!” she choked out. _

_ “I’m just really nervous. You’re both top Heroes, and you’re talking to me, and I’m not sure how to handle that!” this time, she went with the truth. It was frantic, but this would hopefully do the trick. _

_ That was when E.N.D laughed. It was hearty, and somehow it soothed Lucy. Slightly. Her heart began to beat a thousand miles a minute, threatening to burst from her chest. Then, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. _

“ _ We aren’t gonna hurt ya. We’re just looking for someone around here,” E.N.D was vague with her on purpose. _

_ Though Lucy hadn’t really shown the other Pros her skillset, so maybe they didn’t think much of her. Truthfully, they hadn’t gotten a good look at her, and thinking more on it, she was mostly just suspicious. The blonde had been creeping around alleyways and taking notes but otherwise hadn’t caused a disturbance. _

“ _ How ‘bout it? Should we move to the next zone?” E.N.D looked pointedly at his… coworker? She wasn’t really sure if they were friends. They seemed antagonistic on news broadcasts. _

“ _ Obviously. If they weren’t seen here, then there’s no point stickin’ around,” Steel Gauntlet left with a nod to her and a click of his tongue to E.N.D. Lucy was left both uncomfortable and curious. _

“ _ Hey, sorry again for scaring you. Be careful around here,” E.N.D gave a parting wave before following his partner. After that, she spent two hours wandering the town just in case she was followed. The entire time was spent thinking of a certain Pro-Hero. _

  
  


“And, that’s all that happened,” she sighed, tensing up after reliving the memory.

“Well, it seems they didn’t suspect you since we haven’t had a raid,” he still looked a bit concerned, but no more so than usual. From the few times she’d seen him anyway. They hadn’t spoken once until now.

“Yeah, I’ll just worry about it until I die,” she muttered, picking her pen back up.

“Looks like it’s starting,” Gray pointed as two students arrived in the arena: one, a petite blue-haired girl, and the other, a girl with bright pink hair.

“Looks like it,” silence fell as the conversation ended, and she immediately focused on the battles from that point forward.

It was four hours of beatdowns later that they finally crowned the victor. It was a girl with a ground-related quirk. She was able to dig tunnels and travel through them quite quickly. She made traps with them as well. Lucy found it interesting, and for a third year, the girl had a good grasp on effectively using it.

Also, though not significant, the winner had short pink hair. Pink seemed to be a popular color among Heroes right now. This girl was named Virgo and, if her notes were correct, the girl from the first round was named Chelia. Of course, there was also E.N.D. Maybe it was a fad? She didn’t think it would suit her current style.

Gray judged, strictly from the blonde’s expression, that most of them would not be viable candidates. That wasn’t a surprise. This was a  **HERO** school; he couldn’t let himself forget that. Maybe he didn’t think much about it because he had been recruited from UA.

“Any luck?” he asked tentatively. Truth be told, she was growing on him. He felt an odd comradery that he didn’t share with the others.

“One,” she paused to think a bit more.

“Maybe two,” she sighed in exasperation at the thought of the second one. His name was Leo, no last name, and she wondered if he was related to Virgo, also no last name. If the Master approved of their recruitment, then maybe she’d ask.

“Considering we’re at a school for Heroes-in-training, that’s not too bad,” he smiled, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll be back. I’m just gonna call Mest to come get us,” the dark-haired boy didn’t wait for a response and disappeared into the crowd, cell phone in hand.

“I just had to go and be a journalism major,” she muttered. Her job was just assumptions by reading body language and listening to the way they talked. Did they seem easier to sway than the others? It was, more or less, a game of ‘come to the dark side we have cookies.’ And then, waiting to see if they’d stick their hand into the proverbial cookie jar.

Lucy shoved her notebook into her bag before she looked into the crowd to see if she could spot Gray. It was by chance, really, that she made eye contact with him. She stiffened as the two major players on the Pro-Hero front walked in her direction.

“How are we supposed to get information out of them if you just beat ‘em up!?” E.N.D’s voice was just loud enough for her to catch his words above the noise of the crowd.

“Did we need it  **right then** ? It doesn’t matter when as long as we get it,” again, it was Steel Gauntlet at his side. He was just as loud. Except, she found him to be incredibly annoying in comparison to E.ND.

Lucy stood, slowly, hoping to catch sight of Gray or Mest. Although, there was a good chance they’d ditch her until the coast was clear. Mest was one of the villains who didn’t hide his face.

However, he was also their only teleporter. At the very least, Lucy knew Gray wouldn’t let him leave without her. He had a strange sense of loyalty that the others didn’t.

E.N.D was making his way towards her, navigating the sea of civilians. His costume was always the most shocking. He seemed to have chosen a dragon motif for his style. If she remembered right, he’d said his Father liked them in an interview. To Lucy, they were just overgrown lizards.

The top half of his face was covered by a mask. Similar in style to one you’d find at a festival. Dragon horns jutted out of the side, and it was designed to make it look like he had actual horns. Props to the hard worker who made it. His hair was slicked back, probably to keep it from getting in the way. It was looking a bit wild compared to usual interviews.

“E.N.D. From the other day,” she chuckled nervously.

“I remember,” She gave him the calmest smile she could muster. He responded with one as bright as the sun. Her heart skipped a beat, and she internally screamed, just for a moment.

“I was hoping I’d see you again,” his smile changed, growing soft. The way he looked at her caught her off guard, and her cheeks warmed.

“You were?” she raised an eyebrow. Did he catch on? Was she about to get arrested? Personally, she’d rather not. She’d been told multiple times that she would not do well in prison. Lucy had to agree.

“Yeah. I--” he was interrupted.

“Hey Flame Brain, you can flirt later. We have a job to do. Erza will have our head if we don’t get it done,” Steel Gauntlet stood off to the side, looking irritated, to say the least. The man in the dragon mask paled at the mention of ‘Erza.’ He must have meant Erza Scarlet.

“Looks like you have to go,” she gave him a small wave before bolting in the other direction. Then, she came to an abrupt stop.

“You should tie back your hair,” she ran up to him, digging in her bag before handing him one of her newest hair ties. As luck would have it, she’d pulled out a red one. He took it from her, a look of shock on his face.

E.N.D watched as she left him. Again. Had his hair really gotten that bad? It had been a while since his last cut. He groaned loudly, he’d finally gotten a chance to see her again, and it was ruined by that stupid, metal asshole.

Then, E.N.D froze. An unexpected occurrence. He rarely ever stopped moving, but this caught him. The blonde was talking with a dark-haired man, and at first, he moved towards them. He stopped when she hit the man’s arm and laughed. The two disappeared into the heavy foot traffic, and he realized they must’ve come to the festival together.

He glared in Steel Gauntlet’s direction, immediately heated at his interruption. He’d lost his chance to ask her on a date, AND she’d come to the festival with another guy. He threw his hands up in frustration, sending a silent prayer to the gods that he’d meet her again.

At that moment, Lucy was panicking for reasons not related to a Pro-Hero hitting on her. That was a lie. That was the entire reason. She shoved her face into her hands and fought the urge to scream out loud. Internal panicking was all she could afford to do right now; she could panic outwardly later.

“You alright?” Gray was smirking like the Cheshire cat, clearly enjoying her suffering.

“Et, tu, Gray?” she peeked at him from between her fingers.

“I hope you break your pinky,” she muttered.

“You have to admit the irony here. One of the top Pro-Heroes in the country was hitting on a  _ Villain _ ,” he emphasized ‘villain’ a lot more than he needed to. With the Sports Festival over, she supposed there was no reason to worry about anyone overhearing them. The horde of people had already dispersed, disregarding a few fans trying to catch Autographs from the Pros who had shown up to check out the next generation.

She wondered who exactly E.N.D had been here for. His personality didn’t make it hard for her to imagine that he’d just come for fun.

“Don’t remind me,” she rubbed her temples as a migraine began. This migraine was named E.N.D. She was a villain. She couldn’t let her heart get swayed by a Hero, even if he had a cute smile.

“Remind you? It literally just happened,” he rolled his eyes, finally walking away from her.

“Well, Mest is here, and he can’t stick around. Let’s get outta here,” she followed after him. She honestly couldn’t wait to be home after what just happened.

Mest wasn’t sure of the exact details, but whatever had happened was causing Lucy Heartfilia distress. He didn’t particularly care; it was none of his business. However, his male colleague was laughing so hard that it started to pique his curiosity.

“Mest, listen to this--” finally, the teleporter was going to get the ‘juicy’ details. For once, he was a bit excited about it. Until Lucy Heartfilia shoved her hand into Gray’s face.

“Shut up, Gray! It’s not THAT funny,” she whined, struggling as Mest tried to force her hand away from the other man’s mouth.

“You force me to listen to you talk every day! Let me hear what he has to say,” Mest was muttering in frustration.  _ It should be illegal to be this much of a pain in the ass _ , he thought.

  
  


“You’re the bartender! It’s your job!” It should be noted: these three are supposed to be keeping a low profile. Instead, Gray, Lucy, and a cranky middle-aged man fought in the tunnel leading to the arena.

“Mark my words, Heartfilia, I’ll get my answers,” the world flickered, and the next thing she knew, she was standing in the old, degraded bar that had become her beloved home.

She whirled around to retort, but he was gone. The space where Mest should have been was empty, and an unfortunate silence permeated the room. A grimace formed on her features. Mest was a better investigator than her, despite her degree being in a similar field. He’d find out eventually. That day could definitely wait.

Movement yanked her from her thoughts, and Gray touched her shoulder.

“Can I tell you something?” his voice was low, foreboding, even. Lucy hated it.

“Depends,” amber eyes inspected him, reading his body language. He seemed stiff as if there was something he desperately needed to get off his chest.

“Let’s walk and talk,” he thrust his thumb toward the door, and she followed, tentatively, as he began to walk. The first thing the blonde noticed was he visibly relaxed as soon as the door shut. The next, his pace slowed to match her own. Last, his voice lowered an octave.

“I’m dating someone,” his hair swayed in the wind, nearly strand by strand. Lucy waited for the continuation that would no doubt follow.

Gray judged her reaction, watching her facial features, body language, everything. He opted to continue.

“She’s wonderful. Sweet, understanding,” his voice trailed off as he thought of her. The woman he definitely loved. Long hair, a shade of blue that reminded him of the sea during a perfect winter morning. Her gaze, always soft when she watched him.

“She’s a hero,” it was abrupt, and it threw Lucy off her game.

“Gray--” he shushed her before she could formulate a response.

“The Rain Woman,” they were walking still, slowly to make sure they didn’t draw unwanted attention. Lucy wasn’t surprised; The Rain Woman seemed like Gray’s type. Then again, they weren’t that close, so she was just assuming. At the very least, it wasn’t shocking, but it should have been.

A villain dating a hero? It was unheard of in both communities. She wondered, briefly, if the reason was because of villains like Gray. A secret like this, hidden under lock and key, would shake the core of the hero society they lived in. The exact one the League was looking to dismantle.

“I’m not surprised,” she started, hesitation causing a brief silence.

“Why did you decide to tell me?” that was a critical question here. Gray had placed his trust in the hands of someone who could quickly turn it to ash if she wanted to.

“The way E.N.D looked at you. Ain’t even subtle,” she wasn’t sure what Gray meant by that. E.N.D looking at her didn’t mean she was looking at him. Except, she was. She watched every interview, every publicized mission, and most recently, every stolen glance he sent her way. Scorching heat spread across her cheeks at the memory.

If she had a nickel for every time E.N.D had looked her way, she’d have two. Which isn’t a lot, but it was weird that it happened twice. Her heart threatened to get lost in those green eyes that could drag her into memories filled with open fields of lush grass and yellow sunflowers. There was an understanding now. Gray had told her because he’d seen the way she looked at E.N.D.

“I understand,” was all she could think to say. After that, they walked in silence. He didn’t respond; the dark-haired man knew he didn’t need to. She had a loyalty not found in the League of Villains. His chest felt light at the idea he could gush about Juvia without worry. He had a partner-in-crime now.

It was, perhaps, an hour before they returned to their run-down home/bar. The metallic scent of blood hid beneath the stench of liquor and cigarettes. It slammed Lucy’s senses, and her nose scrunched up. See, the latter two you would typically find in an aging lounge like this one. The first, well, Lucy was sure that smell had its own origin. One she didn’t intend to learn.


End file.
